Good afternoon, Insiders. Jesse Whittock back again this week, taking you through the week’s top headlines, with reports from LA, Greece and the Qatar World Cup. Here we go.
The World’s Watching Qatar
World Cup concerns:The world’s largest sports tournament, the FIFA World Cup, starts on November 20 and there is no shortage of controversy. Qatar, the host country, has a poor record in human rights. This is why it is now more important than ever. Max and I have spent the past few weeks investigating how broadcasters, sponsors and pundits will the event given Qatar’s disappointing record on LGBTQ+ and women’s rights and the shocking treatment of migrant workers. Who is boycotting, what campaigns are being run? Obviously, TV companies have to run their coverage – the tournament itself will supplant the regular European soccer seasons during November and December — but to what extent should they call out wrongdoing? The World Cup is expected to be the one of the most watched sports event of all time, so it’s a moral maze for us all. For the bigger picture, read on.
AFM — All Quiet On The Western Coast
But it’s back, but not big bang:Andreas reported that, in contrast to Cannes’s bustle in May, the American Film Market, which was held in person for the first time in three years, was more laid-back than usual. Notable projects launched, including Guy Ritchie’s WWII picThe Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and A24 impressed with a slate including Zac Efron wrestling picIron Clawand Kristen Stewart crime-thrillerLove Bleedsbut few big-ticket theatrical features were on show and no major deals announced. As Andreas noted, most film markets create at least one major studio or streamer deal these days, but that didn’t happen at AFM. Santa Monica was also without the usual parties so the gossip mill produced fewer pieces of gossip than we journalists are used to hearing from industry cocktail receptions. There are many reasons, including the fact that international buyers travel less and the ailing global economic system. AFM is being blamed by some, but one seller from the United States said something I hear often about TV markets like Mipcom. “Until someone comes up with a better plan, AFM remains an important and very useful exercise for us.” The California sunshine doesn’t hurt either. Read the full report here.
Greece is the Word
Agog About AgoraThe brave Zac Ntim reports from Greece.The Thessaloniki Film Festival is Greece’s premiere film event, but on Thursday, the festival’s Agora industry sidebar debuted a new section dedicated to international series with a collection of masterclasses and discussions featuring local and international producers. The series sidebar was created to harness the current energy surrounding series production in Greece following recent successes like Christoforos Papakaliatis’sMaestroThis is the first time that Netflix has picked up a Greek TV show, titled. Before its worldwide release in 2023, the show will be available in Greece and Cyprus on Netflix on December 19. Agora also hosted a masterclass dedicated to the art of acting featuring a rare public speaking appearance from leading French agent Laurent Grégoire, who discussed his career, which was an inspiration for the popular seriesCall my agentYou can read the full masterclass recap here. Thessaloniki runs through Sunday, November 13th.
Zuckerberg’s “Last Resort”
Meta sacrifices staffEven the biggest social media firms can’t avoid the digital downturn of 2022 and Facebook parent Meta announced its largest ever (well, actually, first ever) large-scale redundancies this week. A staggering 11,000 employees are being laid off. Add that to around 4,000 Twitter workers that Elon Musk is letting go and you’ve got a very swollen tech labor market all of a sudden. As we approach the holiday season, this isn’t the most festive news. Mark Zuckerberg (face of Facebook) wrote a long note to staff lamenting his own business failures, the state economy, and increased competition that led to much lower revenues. “I view layoffs as a last resort,” Zuckerberg wrote in his note – not that it will be much comfort to those now looking for new work. Cuts have implications for both the U.S. Mothership and international offices. More to come. Read my report here.
A blue day for Twitter usersNeue ‘Chief Twit’ Elon Musk’s plan to charge users for their much-valued Blue-Checks — effectively allowing anyone with $8 a month to spare to become verified — began to predictable chaos this week. Many were already moving over to Mastodon (Mastodon? Find out more here), but ultra-free speech proponent Musk is convinced this is one way the platform can use to make much needed money. However, there are concerns that people may sign up using false names and pretend to be public figures. ‘verified’Accounts for ex-British Prime minister Tony Blair and former U.S. President George Bush had been claimed by both “miss killing Iraqis,”While ‘LeBron James’Within hours of the system’s launch, Musk requested a trade from the Lakers. Musk is tweeting about a longer-term outlook. “Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months. We will keep what works and change what doesn’t.” Read Jill Goldsmith’s report on the latest happenings over in Twitterland here.
The M&A Team
Can we all stop buying everything?Everyone in international television decided on Wednesday to purchase another person. The morning began with the breaking news Banijay was taking a majority stake inOur Boysco-producer MoviePlus Productions, one of Israel’s most prominent indie firms. Hours later, Fremantle then got in on the action, revealing it had acquired 72 Films, the production company behind hit docs such as9/11: One Day in America,The Elon Musk ShowandJimmy Savile: A British Horror Story. Just as I thought I’d have a chance to grab a coffee, BBC Studios then unveiled its purchase of another UK-based unscripted company, Voltage TV. Didn’t anyone tell these folk it isn’t Black Friday for another two weeks? On a more serious note, M&A specialists have been predicting a mini-consolidation boom for a good while nowAnd we’re starting to see that come to fruition.
The Essentials
🌶️ Hot OneSansa Stark is becoming a jewel thief: Sophie Turner leads new ITVX dramaJoan, as I revealed on Wednesday.
🌶️ Another one:Theater director John Tiffany to adapt Nicole Taylor’sWild Roseas a stage musical, as per Baz’s story
🌶️ And this one:Five Canadian rising talents are featured in queer, independent musicWe Forgot to Split Up, as Mel first reported.
🌶️ One for luck:Philip Glenister and Steffan Rhodri front time-hopping BBC crime dramaSteeltown Murders, we revealed.
👑 The royal returnNetflix’s German period dramaThe Empress.
📈 Ratings:The Crownseason 5 debuted on Netflix and episode 1 took 1.1 million viewers on its first day.
📋 In development:The Touristco-producer Highview Productions is taking Pip WilliamsThe Dictionary of Lost Wordsto TV.
🏢 New bannerProSiebenSat.1 rejigged its international production assets under new banner Seven.One Studios.
🎞️ Exclusive clip:Watch an exclusive clip from Sky’s upcoming Formula 1 docVilleneuve Pironi.
And finally:RIP to British comedy acting great Leslie Phillips, who died aged 98.
Zac Ntim contributed to this week’s Insider